It all seemed a little strange to me, this whole online degree in less time. I was very interested in doing some classes online as I had done so in the past. I figured that UoP was legit due to the fact that they were everywhere.
I decided to contact a counselor from UoP to discuss my options. Forgive me for not remembering my couselors name, but to tell you the truth, I was never happy and so I don't care to remember his name! We spoke on the subject of Financial Aid a lot because of my fear of not having the cash to pay directly for these classes.
Things progressed and I decided that this would be the route to go since I was working a Full-time job and had small children at home. We set everything up and it all seemed to be good.
Financial Aid came late, UoP wanted me to pay up front all of the sudden. They reassured me that Financial Aid would be in soon and would help with the cash I had to shell out to begin with. I told my counselor that I could not pay any cash and he said he could try to help me out. I got a phone call about two weeks later and he said it was all fixed.
I felt like there was too much stuff going on in my life to have to deal with much more and gave my couselor a call. He told me that since I was already into my classes to just keep pushing through, that once my first two classes were complete, I could pull out without consequence.
Struggling, I continued my classes. My counselor called me once in a while to see how I was doing. I would tell him every time that I wanted to pull out because I was having too many issues at home, and that this just was not working out for me. He said he would work it out that I could pull out without penalty.
I attended like he told me to, and he gave me a date to leave class. I did everything he told me to to get out. Just when I thought everything was good, he called me saying that I have not been attending my classes and I was going to get penalized and my Financial Aid was going to be sent back to the lender.
By this time I freaked out because I could not pay for this on my own. Please keep in mind that for two online courses, the cost was $1850.00. When I spoke with my couselor, he again reasured me that he would work it out so that my Financial Aid would not be affected and that I would not have to pay this back out of pocket.
UoP is a complete scam. They lure you into something that seems legit and easy and once you get into a little bind, they turn on you and screw up your finances.
My bill has now gone to their Legal Department and they are calling me all the time. They tell me that this is no longer a loan, but an educational payment. They tell me that it has to be satisfied within 6 months or it will become a garnishment. Even though I tried to set up a payment plan, I was denied. They tell me they do not take anything but the payment amount they give you. They also tell you that they do not work with Credit Counseling Companies. Get this, they asked me to use my Economic Stimulus money to pay them!!! What a crock!
I feel really bad that I did not stumble across this site before I signed up for this so called accredited school. What a shame. I hope others read this before they make this school their online choice.
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